Disneyland Food, Mobile Ordering, and Tips in 2021

I’m going to dust off the old blog here to talk about Disneyland, Disneyland food, what’s changed since Disneyland’s closure for COVID-19 and some other good stuff. Let’s get into it!

I haven’t been to Disneyland since November 2018 when I was last a passholder. Jake and I got engaged in December of 2018 so I was glad we didn’t have that extra expense as we saved up for our wedding (I wonder if anyone still wants a post about our wedding after all this time…?) but I still really wanted to check out the new Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. We planned to go last March… but you know what happened. We were excited to get back into the park and finally visited again on June 9th while the park was still operating at a lower capacity and was only allowing California residents. Here’s my experience and what we ate and did at Disneyland!

First thing – you gotta wear a mask. At all times. The only time you can take off your mask is if you are in a designated dining area AND you are actively eating or drinking. If you’re just hanging out, someone will ask you to put your mask back on. It also has to be a mask with ear loops, it cannot be a neck gaiter or something like that. 

We parked before 8AM. We were going to park at the Anaheim Hotel, but the parking was full. Instead, we headed over to Anaheim Gardenwalk (400 West Disney Way Anaheim, CA 92802). You get a receipt with a number on it as your parking ticket. When you are ready to leave for the day, text your parking receipt number to 949-532-8293. It will take a minute or two but you should then get a text back that says “Validated”. Then you can go to one of the walk up parking pay machines (we went to the one on level two because that is where we parked, they are not on every level) and paid $18 for the whole day. Parking at the Mickey & Friends structure is currently $25 and the tram is not running which is why we opted to park a little bit closer to the entrance on S Harbor Blvd instead of hoofing it all the way from the Disney parking garage.

There was a long security line to get in BUT it was always moving so it didn’t seem too awful. The park didn’t “officially” open until 9AM but the rides were already open by the time we got through the front gates and made our way down Main Street.

We got into the park about 8:45 or so and hopped onto Peter Pan’s Flight since the wait time was listed at 20 minutes (in reality it was more like 10 minutes). Then we headed over to Batuu! 

I hadn’t eaten anything so while we walked to Galaxy’s Edge, I pulled up the Disneyland App and placed my mobile order at Ronto Roasters. Ronto Roasters accepts mobile pay/ordering but they also have a “stand by” line. After we got there and we were in the correct window time, I clicked the “I’m here!” button so they would start making my order.

[Ronto Wrap – Roasted Pork, Grilled Pork Sausage, Peppercorn Sauce, Tangy Slaw, wrapped in Pita / $12.99]

The Ronto Wrap had the option to put everything on the side, so I did. I’m not into coleslaw, but I did put a little bit on my half of the wrap that I shared with Jake. It’s more satisfying and filling with the slaw, but I wasn’t a fan of its tangy flavor so I used it sparingly. The peppercorn sauce was pretty tasty on the pork. The roasted pork was just okay but I did like the snap of the pork sausage.

[left: Meiloorun Juice – Pineapple Juice, Minute Maid® Lemonade, with Blueberry, Cranberry Juice, Lemon Juice, and Desert Pear / $5.49; right: Tatooine Sunset – Gold Peak® Unsweetened Tea, Minute Maid® Lemonade with Melon and Blueberry in a light up sipper cup / $24.99]

We tried both of the special drinks at Ronto Roasters. The bright pink drink is the Meiloorun Juice. Meiloorun is a fruit that pops up in Star Wars Rebels – a favorite snack of rebel pilot Hera Syndulla. This drink is very fruity and pretty sweet. 

Tatooine Sunset is not as pretty looking (it just looks tan colored) but tastes much better in my opinion. It is less sweet and it’s more like an Arnold Palmer with melon and blueberry juice mixed in. Jake decided he wanted that fancy sipper cup (which has a little creature inside of it when you open the lid and it lights up) because he forgot about the Jango Fett sipper cup (available at Galactic Grill in Tomorrowland).

After our morning snack, we hopped onto the Smuggler’s Run ride for the first time – AWWW YES. Hondo (the pirate) is your “guide” through your ride on the Millennium Falcon and it was a super fun ride. We got the ride to ourselves, which is probably something that will only happen during the pandemic. 

Our next stop was at the Tropical Hideaway in Adventureland. This is next to the Jungle Cruise (which is currently closed). The Tiki Juice Bar is currently closed and this is now the spot to get your Dole Whip. They are also supposed to have steamed baos and other treats, but they were not available on the day we went. This is a nice spot to hang out as they play relaxing music and there is a parrot in the corner that puts on a little show and talks. 

[DOLE Whip® Swirl with Raspberry and Pineapple / $5.99]

I decided I wanted a swirl. They have Pineapple, Raspberry, Mango, or Lemon available which you can also get in a float (with juice on the bottom). It was still in the morning so I decided swirl only was the way to go. I loved this sweet and tangy combo of the raspberry and original pineapple – very refreshing! 

After Dole Whip – we were off to Tomorrowland! We hopped onto Star Tours and before we got onto the ride, I managed to snag a boarding pass for Star Wars – Rise of the Resistance. This ride is only available via virtual queue on the Disneyland app. You have two chances to get on this ride – at 7AM and 12PM. It’s much easier to get into the 12PM boarding groups. 

After that – it was time for lunch at the Galactic Grill! 

I’ve honestly never given much thought to the food at Galactic Grill because I remember it being terrible in the late 90s and never gave it a chance again until this visit. I saw a sparkly dessert that I wanted to try and also added a chicken sandwich to the mix.

[Fried Chicken Sandwich – Fried Chicken Breast, Spicy Coleslaw and Parmesan Ranch served with choice of Dannon® Oikos® Greek Yogurt or French Fries / $11.79]

This is another “mobile order only” station – no walk ups here. I was incredibly surprised by how GOOD this sandwich was. I was expecting it to be “ehh, it’s fine” but the chicken was fresh, crunchy, had a lovely coating, was juicy, and the parmesan ranch sauce was damn TASTY. The spicy coleslaw does give it a little kick and extra flavor and it didn’t make me go “ewww coleslaw” like most coleslaw does. Highly approve! 

[Galactic Parfait – a galaxy parfait with layers of Chocolate Cake, Blue Cheesecake, and Purple Mousse filled with Raspberry Marmalade and finished with Glitter Glaze, Edible Silver Stars and a Chocolate Truffle Shell / $5.99]

First of all – HOW PRETTY IS THIS?! Those edible stars and sparkly glitter glaze on top really roped me in and I had to try out this festive Disneyland treat. 

At the very top is the “glitter glaze” and right below that is the blue cheesecake layer, followed by the chocolate cake, with the purple mousse on the bottom. The only layer I didn’t love was the mousse – but the rest of it was delicious. It wasn’t overly sweet and the cake provided some texture in between the layers. The cheesecake was creamy and smooth and there was an overall “blue raspberry” flavor going on. 

Here’s a video of me sampling the parfait so you can see the layers better. 

After our little lunch, we headed over to Space Mountain, then Winnie the Pooh, and then hung around waiting to get into Rise of the Resistance. Rise of the Resistance actually broke down before we could board so we ended up waiting an extra hour to get in. But, once that was done we got on right away. I loved the immersive experience of that ride and the different parts you go through until the end – SO FUN!  

[Hand Dipped Corn Dog / $9.79 with chips or mandarin oranges]

It was almost 5PM at this point and I still wanted one last treat to eat and I used the Disneyland app again to place an order for my favorite corn dog at the Little Red Wagon at the end of Main Street. The Little Red Wagon looked like they had a standby line so I didn’t need to place a mobile order but I didn’t know that. But it was fine since it gave me time to pop into the Candy Palace for some to go treats. 

The only thing I didn’t like about mobile ordering this time is that there is not an option to decline the side item. In the past I have always ordered the corndog by itself so I didn’t have to pay extra for a bag of chips (or mandarin oranges). But, it’s fine since we quickly ate the chips. The corndog didn’t taste as fresh as it usually does and it tasted like it was made well in advance… but it was still a pretty good corndog.

Earlier in the day, I popped into Jolly Holiday Bakery and got some Matterhorn Macaroons [$2.99] to take home. These are one of my favorite to go treats! I loved the bit of white chocolate on top and all of that coconutty goodness. 

The Candy Palace did not have my beloved Peanut Butter Squares (CRY) so instead I got this Mickey Sugar Cookie and some chocolate peanut clusters (not shown) and peanut brittle for my parents (to say thanks for watching Bucky all day for us).

The only thing I didn’t get to try was the Haunted Mansion Wedding Cake (which looked like a blood splattered cake thanks to some cherry sauce) – but oh well. I couldn’t get a good time for the French Market which only accepted mobile ordering – all of the times were always too far in advance by a few hours. 

My non-food but still food related purchase – Minnie Mouse Donut ears! After thinking about it all day, I finally decided to get them. I’m not crazy about the pink bow, but I love the donuts and I figured I might regret it if I didn’t get one! These were $29.99 and I got them on Main Street (next to Disneyana) but I also saw them in other spots (like at The Star Trader in Tomorrowland). 

Disneyland opens to people outside of California next week and more of the restaurants are opening up on June 17th. I’m not sure how long they will be keeping the social distancing protocols, but we really enjoyed a less crowded park. It was nice to be able to actually find a table to sit at for meals instead of lurking in some corner to try and eat (which we did many times as passholders). Will you be headed to Disneyland this summer?